Pre-germinative treatments for overcoming dormancy of Crotalaria grahamiana seeds

Abstract

The main use of sunnests is in green manure, reform of cane fields and phytosanitary management. In addition, the cultivation of these plants in the off-season is an alternative to diversify the succession of crops. The objective of this work was to study different methods for breaking dormancy of Crotalaria grahamiana seeds. The two methods for overcoming dormancy were tested: immersion in sulfuric acid and immersion in hot water (100 ° C) for 0, 5, 10, 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes. After treatments, the seeds were submitted to the germination test and emergency field test. The evaluations made were the percentage of normal seedlings, field emergence and emergency speed index. The experimental design adopted was completely randomized with seven treatments (periods of immersion) and four replications. There was an effect of the pre-germinative treatments and the immersion of the seeds in sulfuric acid resulted in higher germination percentages, emergence percentages and speed emergence index. The greatest results of germination were obtained with the treatments of immersion in sulfuric acid for 45 and 60 minutes, with averages of 61 and 53%, respectively. It was found that the immersion treatments in sulfuric acid for 45 and 60 minutes are the most efficient for breaking dormancy in Crotalaria grahamiana seeds.